Foot ascender

Beranek also hit the edges on the outside when he sharpened mine and they stuck just fine. I always did like what you said, but after that I started hitting the edges, too. Jerry said it was the back you never wanted to touch.
 
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  • #29
I was stomping that ash tree like it was a rattle snake. They punctured the garden hose fine (no joke:()but perhaps need a good filing.
I love the biner at the hip or 4 o'clock position to pass the rope thru, slightly mortified I didn't come up with nugget on my own.
Thanks to all on this, your comments have been absorbed and will be put into practice.
 
You should remove the spurs when you're on the ground. Don't walk around with them on.
So, you don't need to repair or replace every garden hoses. You avoid to dull the spikes on the eventual stones and concrete too.
Moreover, you reduce greatly the risk of harming yourself. When you trip with the spurs, you have a great possibility to pin your foot, ankle, calf, even knee or thigh during the fall or the catching up move.

No need to take them out before even putting a foot on the ground, some rules ask for that (a little bit exaggerated).
But if you come down in the middle of a limb's mess (no groundy to clean the LZ), it's a good idea to remove them before leaving the rope's support though, much more easier and stable to walk over the mess.
 
What?s the file of choice for gaffs? Is there a combination of a few to get the job done( coarse to fine).

I?ve always used a ?magic file?. ( that?s what it?s branded as anyway) not sure what number it would be equal to.
 
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  • #34
Marc-Antoine said:
You should remove the spurs when you're on the ground. Don't walk around with them on.
So, you don't need to repair or replace every garden hoses. You avoid to dull the spikes on the eventual stones and concrete too.
Moreover, you reduce greatly the risk of harming yourself. When you trip with the spurs, you have a great possibility to pin your foot, ankle, calf, even knee or thigh during the fall or the catching up move.



No need to take them out before even putting a foot on the ground, some rules ask for that (a little bit exaggerated).
But if you come down in the middle of a limb's mess (no groundy to clean the LZ), it's a good idea to remove them before leaving the rope's support though, much more easier and stable to walk over the mess.
Click to expand...

Thanks Marc
Probably would be easier to remove still tied in. I'll give that a go too.
 
LeafCollector said:
I was stomping that ash tree like it was a rattle snake. They punctured the garden hose fine (no joke:()but perhaps need a good filing.
I love the biner at the hip or 4 o'clock position to pass the rope thru, slightly mortified I didn't come up with nugget on my own.
Thanks to all on this, your comments have been absorbed and will be put into practice.
Click to expand...

The importance of sharp gaffs has been well represented here. The manufacturers have basic specs to sharped to - Bashlin has a guage or guide to use to compare your progress as you file all three sides of a gaff.

What I haven't seen spoken of is if you want to walk up a tree rather than stomp your way up you use pole gaffs on thinner barked trees.
 
I watched a climber load his wood with an excavator still wearing his spurs in the cab...

I liked him. Always a smile.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
I worked for an Artist once, metal sculpting was his medium, whom made me a set of 4 inch points for a set of old Brooks spurs. The Brooks company went out of business years ago, but they did make a fine set of climbers with interchangeable points.

Needless to say, with 4 inch points, one could not walk on the ground with those spurs on. And then up in the top of a skinny little tree... well, forget it! like climbing on stilts. All around a bad idea from the get-go.

I should have kept those spurs, and put'em in Don Blair's Museum. In the Hall of Shame section.
 
I have to shout out to Burnham's USFS guide, describes perfectly an ideal gaff profile. I bought used spurs that had a funky profile. Following the guide I have an awesome (for me) gaff profile, in between pole and tree. It's like walking in heaven (for me), and makes me look like I can climb.

Thanks again, Burnham!!!!
 
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  • #46
I put a file to my spurs today.
i colored the flat with magic marker aboot 1/2' from the tip.
i only filed the flat out to the tip, left the sides alone.
I was able to walk up my oak tree today.
not many vijas on the subject

Guess i should have read Raj's post
 
LeafCollector...sorry to report that the newest version of the USFS Climbers Guide (the one you posted) does not include the detailed info on gaff filing profiles that the older version did. I will try to find a link to the older publication...this came up another time, and I did find it then. I'll look.
 
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